Related Articles

BEIJING/HONG KONG— A major regional security conference is shaping up as a face-off between Asia's two biggest powers, as Japan sends its hawkish prime minister and China dispatches a feisty diplomat instead of the usual brass to counter Tokyo's more assertive message.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in 2012 promising to bolster the role of the nation's military, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore at the end of the month.

Beijing is sending Fu Ying, a tough and articulate former deputy foreign minister now serving as chairwoman of the Chinese parliament's foreign affairs committee, who is expected to make the case that it is Japan, not an increasingly powerful China, which threatens regional security.

Sino-Japanese tensions over a string of Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea that are also claimed by Beijing spiked two years, ago shortly before Abe took office.

Relations were further strained when Abe last December visited Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese World War II leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals are honored along with millions of war dead.

“We understand that the Chinese are keen to continue participating and will be sending a strong delegation, and Fu Ying's appearance reflects that,” said Tim Huxley, Singapore-based executive director of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (Asia), which organizes the event.

“Our impression is that Prime Minister Abe's speech will stimulate a lot of interest, not least in China, and understandably they want to be in a position to respond swiftly and appropriately,” Huxley said.

China's foreign ministry said it was unable to confirm Fu's attendance.

China has yet to confirm who will head the delegation from the People's Liberation Army, Huxley said. China's defense ministry did not respond to request for comment.

A source familiar with China's foreign policy, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Fu was a good choice to go and spar with Abe.

“She is well-versed in putting across China's position to an international audience,” said the source.

A polished English-speaker - still a rarity among senior Chinese officials - Fu is no stranger to taking on Japan.

Fu attended the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, where she criticized Japan for what she said was its “denial” of its crimes during World War II.

“She can be very charming but she can also be very tough,” said a diplomatic source in Beijing. “She will give a robust response to anything Abe says.”

Regional tensions

Organizers of the forum usually invite a regional prime minister or president to give the keynote address. Last year it was delivered by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Abe, accompanied by his defense minister and national security adviser, will likely be carrying what has become a consistent message from the Japanese leader on the world stage since he took office: that Japan will stick to a peaceful path, that Tokyo wants to play a bigger role on the global security stage, and that all nations should follow the rule of law.

In a speech at the North Atlantic Council this month, Abe - pointing to the growing security tensions in the region - highlighted China's hefty defense spending, along with what he called Beijing's efforts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas, where China has territorial disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

While Japan is wary of China's growing military assertiveness, Beijing is suspicious of Abe's efforts to loosen the limits of Japan's pacifist post-war constitution on its military.

Relations have also long been soured by Chinese resentment of Japan's wartime occupation of large parts of China and the belief that Japan has never properly atoned for its actions.

Unlike most other countries, China does not usually send a top-ranked official to the Shangri-La Dialogue. It has sent its defense minister only once - in 2011.

Last year, China's most senior official at the forum was Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, the People's Liberation Army's deputy chief of general staff, who used the opportunity to ease concerns about Beijing's intentions.

A series of moves by China have unsettled its neighbors in recent months, including the declaration of a new air defense zone in the East China Sea and a more confrontational stance in the disputed South China Sea.

Tensions rose in the resource-rich South China Sea last week after China positioned a giant oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam. Each country accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed Paracel Islands.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.